INMED International Public Health Hybrid Course Syllabus
Course Directors: Paul Larson, MD, DTM&H; Nicholas Comninellis, MD, MPH;
Nancy Crigger, PhD, ARNP, FAAN
Contact Information: email: nicholas@inmed.us, office phone: 816-444-6400,
cell phone: 816-520-6900
Competency Objectives: At the completion of the INMED International Public
Health Hybrid Course, students in the context of a low-resource community
will be able to:
• Advance community-wide health promotion and death/disability
prevention
• Assure that healthcare is culturally appropriate
• Mitigate disaster risk and respond to disaster events
• Design and implement healthcare as part of a leadership team
Course Description: This Course is a hybrid: 4 weeks online, plus 2 days inclassroom for workshops, skill stations, and final exams. The Course will
particularly address the following subjects:
• International Public Health
• Cross-Cultural Skills
• Disaster Management
• International Health Leadership
Provided Texts:
INMED International Medicine & Public Health
Author: Nicholas Comninellis, MD, MPH
Publisher: Institute for International Medicine, 2012
400 pages
Contact Hours: The total number of contact hours for the online section of the
course is 20 hours. The total number of contact hours for the in-classroom
section of the course is 11 hours.
Student Time Requirements: Students will need to devote 5-10 hours per
week to the online section of the course.
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Questions: There is a Q & A Forum available to post questions for the
instructor.
Computing Requirements: Each student must have access to a personal
computer capable of wireless Internet access for the online assignments, inclass sessions, and for participation in the final examinations.
Weekly Course Assignments:
Public Health Week One Online: International Public Health
Content:
Module One: Introduction To International Public Health
Module Two: Health And Social Context
Module Three: Strategy For Health
Module Four: Effective Health Promotion
Module Five: Effective Disease And Injury Intervention
Assignments to be completed by 11:55 pm, on Sunday:
• Participate in the INMED International Public Health content and complete
the Final Exam for this Subject
• Read Assigned Articles
• Complete the Discussion Board Individual Assignments
• Complete the Personal Health Risk Assessment Exercise
Public Health Week Two Online: Disaster Management
Content:
Module One: Introduction to Disaster Management
Module Two: Disaster Mitigation
Module Three: Disaster Preparedness
Module Four: Disaster Response
Module Five: Disaster Recovery
Assignments to be completed by 11:55 pm, Sunday:
• Participate in the INMED Disaster Medicine Management content and
complete the Final Exam for this Subject
• Read Assigned Articles
• Complete the Discussion Board Individual Assignments
• Complete the Complete the Person Disaster Preparedness Exercise
Public Health Week Three Online: Cross-Cultural Skills
Content:
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Module One: Relevance Of Cultures
Module Two: Basic Cross-cultural Competency
Module Three: Healthcare Cross-cultural Competency
Module Four: International Cross-cultural Competency
Assignments to be completed by 11:55 pm, Sunday:
• Participate in the INMED Cross-Cultural Competency content and complete
the Final Exam for this Subject
• Read Assigned Articles
• Complete the Discussion Board Individual Assignments
• Complete the Selected Cross-Cultural Health Cases Studies
Public Health Week Four Online: International Health Leadership
Content:
Module One: Introduction To International Health Leadership
Module Two: Strategy For Health
Module Three: Major International Health Initiatives
Module Four: How To Lead A Health System
Assignments to be completed by 11:55 pm, Sunday:
• Participate in the INMED International Health Leadership content and
complete the Final Exam for this Subject
• Read Assigned Articles
• Complete the Discussion Board Individual Assignments
• Complete the Selected International Health Leadership Cases Studies
In-Classroom Section: See accompanying schedule
Assignment Guidelines
Explanation of Assignments: The following section describes various
assignments and performance expectations, along with some general
comments regarding course evaluation.
Due Dates: All assignments are due on Sunday at 11:55 pm of the week they
are assigned. If assignments cannot be completed in time, please contact the
instructor for appropriate alternatives.
Professionalism Requirement: This is a professional course. Assignments are
expected to be completed in a professional manner.
Subject Study: Students are required to view the interactive content, including
any pre-tests and post-tests, assigned for each week.
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Assigned Articles: There will be two articles for students to review and two
response questions about the articles assigned for each week. Students are
required to post one response to each question, and respond to a minimum
of one classmate’s post stating with what they agree or disagree with about the post
and why.
Individual Participation Discussion Board: Regarding participation in the
forums, students are expected to engage actively in the discussion and to
post substantive content that advances the discussion. The weekly discussion
grades will be based on both the quantity and quality of individual posts. A
post that simply agrees with something someone else said is not satisfactory
and will be counted as if there were no post. Students are also encouraged to
post questions and comments to each other to enhance conversation during
the course.
Subject Exercises: Each week students will complete an assigned exercise
that requires application of the information studied. The completed exercise
will then be uploaded to the instructor.
Participation in in-classroom activities: These discussion sessions and handson skill workshops develop competencies that cannot be readily acquired in
an online learning environment. Attendance and active participation are
required.
Final Exams: The final exam covers the subjects of International Public Health.
The exam is composed of 50-60 multiple-choice questions. An excellent
review for these exams is thorough mastery of the course content.
Course Grade Matrix:
Subject Post-Tests
Discussion Board Participation
Subject Exercises
Participation in in-classroom activities
Weights
25%
25%
25%
25%
Grading Scale & Certification: The grading scale used is Pass/Fail based on an
80% score. Students who receive at least 80% on the Course Grade Matrix and
at least 80% on the International International Public Health Final Exam will
receive the INMED Academic Qualification In International Public Health.
Those students who do not achieve these will receive a certificate of
participation and the opportunity to remunerate.
Academic Honesty Policy: All students must be honest and forthright in their
academic studies. To falsify the results of one's research, to steal the words
or ideas of another, to cheat on an assignment, or to allow or assist another to
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commit these acts corrupts the educational process. Students are expected
to do their own work and neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance.
Course Faculty:
Nicholas Comninellis, MD, MPH, DIM&PH
President, Institute for International Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of
Medicine
Dr. Comninellis served inner city citizens for a year at Shanghai Charity
Hospital during the pre-prosperity era, and over two year period initiated a
healthcare ministry in the war-besieged city of Huambo, Angola in southern
Africa. He also served one-month medical assignments in Honduras, Haiti,
Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Niger and Kunming, China. Dr. Comninellis then
worked for six years in the Kansas City public hospital system, before
launching INMED in 2003. He attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City
School of Medicine, the Saint Louis University School of Public Health, and
was a family medicine resident at the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center/John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr.
Comninellis also earned a diploma in tropical medicine from the Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research. He is board certified in both preventive medicine
and family medicine, and is author of six books on contemporary issues.
Paul Larson, MD, DTM&H
Faculty Physician
Saint Margaret Family Medicine Residency
Following formal training in family medicine and tropical diseases (Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine), Dr. Larson practiced for two years at Kapsowar
Hospital in Kenya in association with the Africa Inland Church. Returning to the
USA, he completed graduate studies in medical education and a fellowship in
faculty development. Today Dr. Larson is director of Global Health Education
at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s St. Margaret Family Medicine
Residency. He also continues to rigorously apply his teaching skills by
supervising INMED Diploma students at the Baptist Medical Center in
northern Ghana, where by personal example and by instruction he casts a
vision for the next generation of globally minded healthcare leaders.
Nancy Crigger, PhD, APRN, FAAN
Associate Professor, Department of Nursing
Graceland University
Dr. Crigger is a family nurse practitioner and associate professor of nursing at
Graceland University. For two decades she has instructed and lead teams of
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American nursing students in providing care in Central America. Dr. Crigger is
widely published in topics of ethics, cultural competency best practices, and
end of life care. Her formation includes an MA in philosophy and PhD in
nursing from the University of Florida. Dr. Crigger is a member of the INMED
Board of Directors.
Micah Flint, MPA
CIO, Institute for International Medicine
Adjunct Faculty, Global Health Leadership, Park University
Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics Training Center Faculty
Prior to his current position as Chief Innovation Officer at the Institute for
International Medicine (INMED), he served five years as INMED's Chief
Executive Officer. Micah served three years as a Board Member for
Samaritan's Emergency Medical Search and Rescue, an international nongovernmental organization providing disaster training and response. He is
also a regular volunteer at Baptist Medical Center in northern Ghana. Micah's
Masters Degree is in Public Administration with a focus on Healthcare
Leadership and Disaster Management.
Joe LeMaster, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Dept. of Community and Family Medicine
University of Missouri, Columbia
Formerly of the United Mission to Nepal, 1990-2000
Dr. LeMaster is a University of Kansas School of Medicine graduate who went
on to later receive a Masters in Public Health in Developing Countries from
the London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine. Dr. LeMaster and his
wife Judy lived in Nepal from 1990-2000, serving at Okhaldhunga Hospital,
the only medical care facility for 300,000 people, where they promoted
maternal-child health and conducted leprosy research. Presently, Dr.
LeMaster is at the University of Missouri-Columbia, teaching family medicine,
researching community participation for improving the health of children, and
engaged in service to Bhutanese and Nepali refugees in the United States.
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